Extractive stripping voltammetry at carbon paste electrodes for determination of biologically active organic compounds

In this review, procedures based on extraction accumulation into carbon pastes as main principle of voltammetric determination of biologically active organic compounds are summarized for the first time. This combination is commonly presented as rapid, effective, and advantageous alternative to standard analytical methods based on chromatographic and spectrometric principles. However, to date, a comprehensive review focusing exclusively on different applications of extractive stripping voltammetry has not been reported yet. Herein, the main attention is paid to the principles of extraction-based methods, and all the important factors, working conditions, and parameters influencing more or less the respective analytical performance, including the task of often extraordinary selectivity and good detection capabilities. Various properties as sensitivity, experimental arrangement, scope of application, and theoretical background are also assessed and critically commented. As a point of special importance, medium-exchange procedures are surveyed and shown as effective tools offering a very high selectivity and well applicable in clinical and pharmaceutical analysis. It is assumed that presented information can contribute to a wider applicability of extractive stripping voltammetry, helping in the development of other methods based on these still nonconventional stripping voltammetric procedures. This review also contains a systematic part, in which various methods and approaches of this kind that have already been published, concerning various biologically active organic compounds, such as alkaloids, terpenoids, amino acids, hormones, fat-soluble vitamins, food additives, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.